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Isaiah 40:21-31: What Can You Reasonably Expect from God?: Epiphany 5B
I received a phone call the other day from a modern-day daughter of Job, whom I will call Mary. At one time Mary had been a pastor’s wife with 2 young children and a nice home, but her husband was extremely abusive and she had to get out of the marriage. The church did not…
Exodus 17:1-7
Lent 3A
Pastor’s Cut It is almost too bad that we are expected to preach this text to our congregations because, really, this is a story for pastors. Pastors following God’s guidance (wishing the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night was still a thing) in order to get God’s people where they are supposed…
Psalm 95
Lent 3A
We’ve all heard about stories, plays, TV shows, or movies that conclude with the proverbial “happy ending.” Probably because we prefer happy endings, we gravitate to story lines that provide one. I myself have never heard of anyone speaking about an “unhappy ending” and you get the feeling that this is because filmmakers and novelists…
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b: How Many Are Your Works?: Pentecost C
You wouldn’t think a wasp could do so much damage. Unless you are allergic to bee and wasp stings, getting stung by these bugs, though briefly painful and annoying, does not generally create any lasting effect or damage. However, about 150 years ago there was one particular kind of wasp that appears to have created…
Exodus 3:1-15: The Suspense of Faith: Proper 17A
All of life has at least a little suspense to it. Sometimes such suspense is a good and happy thing, the kind of thing a child feels when anticipating opening Christmas presents or awaiting the start of a long-anticipated birthday party. Few phrases can titillate a child as much as the two words, “You’ll see!”…
Deuteronomy 34:1-12: Unfinished Lives?: Proper 25A
I once heard presidential historian and biographer Robert Dallek give a lecture that was particularly focused on this then-latest book, a biography of John F. Kennedy titled An Unfinished Life. Not surprisingly, in the question-and-answer time following the lecture, a few people inquired about Dallek’s opinions related to the bevy of conspiracy theories that surround…
Genesis 32:22-31: That Face: Proper 13A
And so it has come to this. Jacob, the heel-grasper, the schemer, the wheeler and dealer, the sneak, the crook, the lie, the cheat: he’s coming home. Deception and wheedling stand on either side of the last twenty years, like bookends on Jacob’s life. He fled Canaan having deceived his old father, Isaac, and having…
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28: Meanwhile – Proper 14A
Life would have been better without the dreams. Things would have gone more smoothly, life would have been easier for all concerned without the dreams. Dreams of a better, brighter, or even just a different future are always a two-edged sword. We love to celebrate those who lived in such a way as to realize…
Psalm 121
Lent 1A
At a conference I attended recently, a woman who works as a psychologist and counselor addressed the topic of trauma in conversation with the Book of Psalms. She related a story from decades ago when her then-boyfriend became paralyzed following a devastating biking accident. In the midst of her grief and sorrow over this turn…
Genesis 12:1-4
Lent 1A
Illustration In chapter 12 of the book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Donald Miller tells the story of his friend Jason. Jason and his wife had a 13-year-old daughter. And their 13-year-old daughter had pot stashed in her closet. She had a boyfriend too. And she had a father who was terrified of…
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